Matthew Landis

National Archive Hunters, by Matthew Landis, is a treasure. It combines a great story line with realistic, age appropriate dialogue. Ike and Iris Carter are ten year old twins who each have their own claims to fame. Ike is the more scholarly, who lives for history and all it’s cool facts. His sister, Iris is the physical one, excelling in running, soccer, and all athletic endeavors. Both kids have the usual rivalry often seen with twins. Each one knows just the right buttons to push to get under the skin of the other. A theft at the museum where their mother not only works, but who has a financial interest in as well, causes great concern in the Carter family. A young girl steals a valuable miniature portrait of George Washington, right under the noses of the twins. The theft of the historical relict from the early American exhibit may cause the museum to have to close. Whats worse, this is only the first a series of thefts, each seemingly more daring than the other. The twin’s mother introduces them to a friend of hers who works in the National Archives in order try to figure out what the next moves by the thief will be. The Carter family and their friend make a good team, but even their historical knowledge and physical attributes still seem to leave them a step behind the mysterious girl thief. This book has plenty of action and fast moving dialogue to keep young readers attention. The historical references are very educational without slowing the story line. A great start for a new series. This book was provided for review by Pixel&Ink books at Holiday House Publishing.… (mehr)

Twelve-year-old Oliver Prichard is obsessed with the Civil War. He knows everything about it: the battles, the generals, every movement of the Union and Confederate Armies. So when the last assignment of seventh-grade history is a project on the Civil War, Oliver is over the moon—until he’s partnered with Ella Berry, the slacker girl with the messy hair who does nothing but stare out the window. And when Oliver finds out they have to research a random soldier named Private Raymond Stone who didn’t even fight in any battles before dying of some boring disease, Oliver knows he’s doomed.

But Ella turns out to be very different from what Oliver expected. As the partners film their documentary about Private Stone—with Oliver’s friend Kevin signing on as their head writing consultant—Oliver discovers that sometimes the most interesting things are hiding in uninteresting places.

This was a surprisingly good read. I know a number of kids who are civil war obsessed & would readily recommend this book to them - its a good portrayal of a kid seeing beyond what he thinks he knows… (mehr)